EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/sCXeawB.jpg)
Nana Mizuki Live Circus 2013
As many people on TL already know, I am a huge Nana Mizuki fan, a Nanatard even. A little over 1.5 years ago, I inadvertently caused Nagisama to go to her concert Live Castle King's Night 2011 which inspired this blog. I was really sad I couldn't go to that concert, but I'm pretty happy Nagi went because it turned him into a fellow Nana fan, and I have since made him my apprentice in all things Nana. That said, I couldn't allow my apprentice to out-Nana me for so long. He had been to a concert (and not just a concert, but the largest Nana concert) and even wrote a cool blog despite only knowing Innocent Starter while I, a fan of 4 years (at the time) hadn't! With each new concert, I wanted desperately to go and finally I resolved myself to send myself to Japan as a graduation present which would of course, include a Nana concert.
Nana generally has a winter live and a summer live, 2 concerts each for the weekend. However, lately, she has been doing summer tours across Japan, not that anyone's complaining. So obviously I was aiming for the summer tour. Then around March, I received a fateful letter: acceptance into Tokyo University for a 2 year graduate school program. Originally, I was going to Japan since I like the country and I'm a big anime fan so Nana was just the highlight of the trip. Suddenly the trip seemed like a big waste of money when I would be going there anyway a couple months later. That's what everyone told me at least. But for me, not going meant waiting another 6 months for the winter live and that meant 6 months of being depressed due to lack of Nana. Screw the money, I'm going to see Nana.
Pre-Concert Stalking
Before the concerts, I needed to do some Nana stalking. First, I took a trip to the Tokyo Skytree where I viewed the Japanese peasants from 345 meters in the sky. Was pretty exhausted since this was near the end of the day and being a hikkikomori, I'm not used to this walking thing. Anyway, at 7:30pm, I headed to the planetarium for the purpose of listening to none other than Nana Mizuki! 50 minutes of the goddess speaking healing words about stars which I can't understand. There was also her autograph there ^_^ Yay Nana! It was so nice to listen to even if I didn't understand anything.
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Nana Mizuki autograph
Next involved the Vitalization release special on nicovideo! Since her new single was being released on July 31st, there was a special show being aired the night before. Normally I never watch this stuff live cause it's like 5am my time, but since I was in Japan, it was at a normal time of 8pm! When it starts, I see Nana...in a yukata! HOLY NANA she was so beautiful wearing traditional Japanese clothing. The special is basically her staff throwing her a private matsuri lol. Nana goes around and does ring tosses, balloon fishing, and rifle sniping. At the end of the balloon fishing, she asks the viewers "can I do it one more time?" with this super cute face. The chat went crazy. I died. Then the rifle shooting rofl. Since Nana is apparently the worst shooter in the world, she takes the rifle, leans over the table, holds it out with one hand so the rifle basically is about a few centimeters from the objects lol. Real pro gun skills. Afterwards, world premier of the Vitalization PV! That's about it.
The next trip involved getting lunch at some small shop off Yotsuya-Sanchome station. I didn't know where it was exactly, just that it was close by. Luckily I found it fairly easily. I went up to the shop and the guy said something about 11am. Oh it's 10:50am and it isn't open yet. Whatever. Killed 10 minutes by walking aimlessly and then went back and then found out it's take-out only. Well, okay whatever I don't care. What I want is...Nana Special Curry! That's right, a special dish created by Nana herself from Nana's favorite curry restaurant! There is no dish holier than this. It is food from the goddess! Then I realized it was like $20 for less than you would expect for that price. It's so obvious they jacked up the price cause Nana. Wow they are raking in so much money from Nanatards lol. It's okay though because going to Tokyo and not eating Nana SP curry is a terrible sin, especially before a concert weekend. Mmm curry. With this, I am ready for the concerts.
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Nana SP Curry
August 2nd - Goods Queue
On Friday morning, I woke up at 4am to catch the first train to Seibu Dome in order to queue for Nana goods. At first I thought everyone around me was heading there but I remember some people get on the first train habitually. However, once I transferred and got closer to Seibu Dome, the number of Nana t-shirts I saw increased and when I made a second transfer, I didn't even know what train I was getting on, but since it was filled with Nana gear, I figured it had to be the correct one. I arrived at 6am and saw a decent but relatively small line. Not as bad as I thought it'd be. Sat around for a couple hours, had the line move forward a bit, sat around for another hour, and then they started moving us to the actual sales area. Sales opened an hour later (10am). By now, the sun was out and it was getting pretty hot. I proudly busted out my new Nana fan that I recently got as a bonus from Gamers, and it actually was super helpful in keeping me cool. It took 2 hours after that before it was finally my turn. There were probably only a few hundred people in front of me (compared to like, thousands behind me) so I didn't expect it take that long but I have to say the sales were done very efficiently. When I got all my stuff, I took out my card and the girl was like "no cards." Welp that's not good. *looks at price, looks at wallet* 1,000 yen too little, which luckily was the cost of a collectible file of which I ordered 2. So I skipped out on 1, dropped all my cash onto the table, and left with no cash and full of Nana goods.
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Nana goods
After that I rested for a bit and then headed out again to pick up my tickets from the person I arranged to buy from. Hilariously, I had arranged to pay in cash but I burned it on the Nana goods and luckily I was able to withdraw more money from an ATM. I was worried my daily limit would prevent me and that would be bad. She said the seats were pretty good so it got my hopes up a little. Anyway, went home and rested more because I wanted to be at full energy for the best weekend of my life.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/8FNFkRL.jpg)
Fanclub Nana tickets!
August 3rd - Trick 6
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SEIBU DOME
Left at around 2pm and arrived at 3:30pm, 1.5 hours before the concert began. There were so many people! Saw a bunch of flowers for Nana and spotted some people wearing former Nana outfits. There was even a person dressed as pirate Nana. Pretty cool. Went in with nothing else to do and looked for my seat to find...it was actually pretty freaking good. Seibu Dome is a baseball stadium so the closest seats are in the arena, where the field would be. I was NINE rows into the stands, on the right side. For the most part, I'd say stands are better than arena because, being really short, I wouldn't be able to see over heads on the flat ground of the arena. Arena perimeter seats (well, half perimeter: the seats with a gap between you and the next block of seats) would be better though since that issue is nullified. Also, while center stage gives a straight view, sidelines aren't bad either since you're closer when she moves to the sides, whereas only the dead center seats give that advantage (more on that later...). Anyway, the seats slowly filled up and everyone was waiting in anticipation. Then the stadium went quiet and...a clown appears? For the record, clowns are actually evil creatures but this one seemed to be harmless enough, tripping on a banana peel, doing some juggling along with a couple other acrobatic acts by some girls. It only served to increase my anticipation for...
01 - Gimmick Game
I remember watching the video of Gimmick Game from Live Games 2010 which was at none other than Seibu Dome. Now, to hear this at the same place. Ah, so great. Seeing Nana LIVE walk out on stage singing, I was so excited. Though to be honest, I was a bit distracted by all the glowsticks. It was pretty majestic seeing the wave of blue lights. And then the jumping and cheering and keeping myself in sync with everyone was even more distracting. So actually, for the first Nana live song ever, I didn't enjoy it to its fullest...but the strength of Nana's voice was just breathtaking. Regardless, Gimmick Game is a strong and powerful song that works well to get the audience HYPED for the start of the concert.
02 - Lovely Fruit
Next up was Lovely Fruit. I'll be honest and say I don't really care for this song. From her newest album, I like it the least except for Darling Plastic. But of course, Nana being Nana, her live singing takes songs I don't care for and makes them way too good. She was also carrying a tray and doing a little choreography like in the PV for it so that was cute. And even if I'm not a fan of it, I am still a big enough fan to know all the lines I'm supposed to sing with her. ITADAKIMASU LOVELY FRUIT. Kyaaa Nana I'll always sing for you~
03 - What Cheer?
Woohoo! What Cheer? is such a nice song. It has a good blend of being relaxing but still fun and catchy. Glowstick choreography eased up for this song as the melody is pretty straightforward. While Lovely Fruit isn't a powerful song, it certainly took more energy out of me than something like this would, so it was nice to get a relatively slow song and like I said, this song is pretty catchy in a relaxing sense so I really enjoyed. Hearing Nana sing it live is really something else.
MC1
"KONICHIWA SEIBU DOME!!!" To be greeted by Nana made my heart flutter. Even when she's speaking regularly, she's still so beautiful...but holy crap my throat was parched. There was a lot more chanting than I expected so I had to drink some water and hoped I had enough for the entire concert. Nana talked about how it's been 3 years since Seibu Dome, which would be Live Games 2010. Something about nostalgia and it being a special place? I wish I could understand more Japanese as I missed out on a lot of her MC talks. One thing I caught was she said it's been pretty hot but the other day during rehearsal, a cool wind was blowing and it felt really good. I was like, "I'll make you feel good anytime Nana!" (wind in Japanese is kaze, my name) She also says something about karaoke and asks who in the audience did it? I'm not sure what the context behind that is but she asked what they sang but couldn't hear the answer. Then she asks if we're ready for the next song: Young Alive!
04 - Young Alive!
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Nana took off some of her outfit as per usual (general rule is first costume has 2 layers to let her take off first layer for a quick costume change) and then began Young Alive! This song has a pretty catchy beat too but nothing that special but it still had parts where Nana signals us to jump or sing which since I'm not overly familiar with it, threw me off at times. Also, during this song, Nana went to the central platform and rose up for everyone to see! I could make her out pretty well from my seat and she went around it, waving to most of the audience.
05 - Fearless Hero
So I like, really don't care about this song. I think it's one of her weakest recent songs and a complete failure as the successor to Scarlet Knight which was fantastic. But again, Nana live singing is just amazing. Instrumentals may be bland, lyrics may be boring, but Nana's vocals trump all. My god, it was beautiful. To top if off, Nana ran down the center walkway and started singing right in front of the center stands! I was so jealous...either way, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would and I may never enjoy Fearless Hero again like I did tonight. Afterwards, Nana went down through a trap door to do a costume change. Meanwhile...
Movie + Cherry Boys
So back in Live Diamond 2009, there was a small movie about Nana getting kidnapped. Well the movie returns with a "sequel" and Nana is in some evil circus place chained to a table (seriously, who in Nana's agency thinks of this stuff...) with a Nazi-like shadow figure maniacally laughing lol. Afterwards is a cut to Cherry Boys introductions with Power Rangers-like outfits (color coded) who are there to save the day where they fight the minion grunts and then they get introduced live as well. And then the music plays again and we realize nobody saved Nana lol wat D:
06 - Get My Drift?
HOLY FREAKING YES. I looped this song hundreds of times when it first got leaked back in November. It is just sooooo catchy and fun and even though it's really short, I just love the beat and blend of Engrish and Japanese lyrics. I was kind of disappointed at the relative lack of enthusiasm from the crowd but I wasn't going to let that stop me from enjoying one of the songs I most looked forward to. She first sang this live at the Zachou Kouen special earlier this year where she said promised to sing it at the summer tour! Nana, being a perfect goddess, doesn't lie about this stuff so I was super excited to hear it.
07 - Unchain World
From the fast and catchy Get My Drift? to the powerful song Unchain World. This song has a really strong ability to just pull in the audience. My favorite performance of it is when she did a duet with Masami Okui at Animelo 2010. Talk about epic; those two are just too perfect when they stand together on stage. But really, I will say it again: hearing this live is SO MUCH BETTER than the recording. I mean, I really enjoy this song already but hearing it live was just a whole new level of greatness.
MC2
So I honestly won't be able to describe MCs well at all. I only picked out a few things and they all got jumbled together in my mind so I can't separate them. She did talk about the whole movie and being kidnapped. Then she said how originally there were 7 colors for the Cherry Boys but then they got more members and they kept adding more colors like white and brown lol. I believe she says how Shu-chan hadn't been to her tour yet because he was doing something overseas? Or something like that. Anyway, now that it is August, he finally is here again! Yay! Then she asked if we're ready for the next song.
08 - 少年 (Shounen)
Yay~ Shounen is a song from Ultimate Diamond. This album was the first one I looped incessantly back when I was first starting to become a true Nanatard. However, as the years progressed, I started listening to it less and began to create a Nana playlist of only my favorites. Even though it's one of her best albums (and most historic, placing 1st on the charts which was literally the first time a seiyuu did so in history), Shounen is one of the songs that didn't make the cut so it's been some time since I heard it and carried some nostalgia factor. Hearing this was like reliving my early days as a fan so I was really happy.
09 - Star Road
YESSSSSS. When Rockbound Neighbors came out this past December, Star Road quickly reached one of my favorites of the album as a powerful yet graceful ballad. I was actually very confident it would get a full orchestral arrangement for the Janurary concert but it didn't. This was an incredibly anticipated song I was waiting to hear and it delivered. It was the first time tonight I heard Nana's true beautiful voice for this equally beautiful ballad. I actually felt this incredible warm feeling of happiness in my heart as Nana sang.
Team Yoda
Nana's dancing team came out and well, danced. I took the chance to sit down and rest as I was getting pretty tired between all the cheering, chanting, glowstick waving, and even jumping. There was also some acrobatics done (as expected from a Circus themed concert tour) which was somewhat interesting. I actually normally don't care about this segment of concerts anyway. And then Nana appears again and...areeeeeee? Doko ni?
10 - Pop Master
So at first I can't find Nana. Where is she? Then I follow the crowd's eyes and see her on the other side of the stage, riding an elephant! Well, a fake, small one, but that's cute. Nana is wearing what I presume to be a Princess Jasmine outfit, from Aladdin. I guess she really liked the Snow White she did back in Live Castle 2011 so she's going to do the whole Kingdom Hearts princesses lineup? haha who knows. Anyway, Pop Master is a song in which I am in the minority of not being a big fan of it. I don't dislike it compared to say, Fearless Hero, but it's a song I wouldn't care to hear. But well, once again my expectations are completely overthrown. Putting aside Nana's vocals, the crowd was so excited, I couldn't help but join in. The choreography for this song was unexpectedly amazing. I knew the singing parts but the jumps and waving was like woah this is really fun! At this point I was like, it's really not possible to NOT enjoy any of her songs.
11 - Happy Go Round
Awwwwww yeahhhhhhh. This song is so catchy. Like, unbelievably catchy and happy. Unfortunately, I was too cheap to buy a Nana Mizuki towel and this was the designated towel song of the tour. I knew it was but was too cheap (then again, based on how that money issue happened, not my fault anyway). So everyone but me took out their Nana towels and began waving them and throwing them in the air at the appropriate times while I just waved my glowstick...nevertheless, I LOVE this song. It's just so HAPPY and of course it made me happy too. HAPPY HAPPY GO ROUND!!!! Seriously, this song just oozes happiness.
MC3
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/31ZR3wS.jpg)
Nana says something about her outfit being Arabian. And then it comes! MAWATTE MAWATTE! At every Nana concert, the fans (who knows how they decide when. hive mind and all that...) at one point ask Nana to do a spin. Nana says okay and since she's wearing this outfit, it'll be a sexy spin. Mmm Nana you are always sexy. She does a cute (lol not sexy) spin and then begins the MOU IKKAI MOU IKKAI. Surprisingly, Nana agreed to do another one very readily. She also talked about the elephant and it's name Nambo (Nana + Dumbo) and something about a unicorn. She then tells it to get some rest as it is lowered below the stage lol. It didn't even move, it just carried Nana for a bit. Then, I *think* it was this MC she mentioned how it was Mishima P's birthday! He is 44 today which is amazing because now Nana is 33, Mishima P is 44 and one of the Cherry Boys (whose name I forget orz) is 55! Then Nana says the next song is one she hasn't sung in awhile. Ehhhhhhh? It's a song from Alive and Kicking. What could it be? I think she said it's been 4 years since she sang it. "Then, please listen...It's in the Bag."
12 - It's in the Bag
WOAAAAAAH talk about a rare song. This song is somewhat of a unique tune for Nana. I wouldn't label it as a powerful song but it certainly isn't calm or relaxing. It has a lot of pausing compared to most songs but the choreography is still there as with any Nana song. It's not a song I really cared to hear but at the same time, it's by no means a song I dislike so I was pretty happy to hear something she rarely ever sings. Sometimes it's really nice to sit down and listen to the less popular songs because in the end, Nana is an insanely talented singer and even her mediocre songs can be fun and pleasant to listen to so I followed the simplistic glowstick waving and listened to this pleasant surprise.
13 - 囚われのBabel (Toware no Babel)
Toware no Babel! This is from Impact Exciter and one of the songs I really liked from it. It's another fast paced song and has some really speedy parts that involved some really quick glowstick waving but that made it all the more enjoyable. It actually took me some time to actually remember the title even though I recognized the tune pretty much immediately. For a lot of the time I was following the music perfectly but thinking "what is this called!!!" It's been awhile since I listened to it or even thought of it as it's lost its place on my main Nana playlist but the melody is one engraved in my mind back when Impact Exciter was released.
14 - Crescent Child
Okay, so I LOVE the piano in this song. It's so amazing and I would love to learn to play it at some point. Next Arcadia and Metro Baroque have some sexy piano parts but Crescent Child just really appeals to me. But for some reason I couldn't recognize it at first. For such a piano heavy song, why is that? Because Nana's vocals were just so incredibly powerful. It's not that the live version is worse; there were parts where Nana quieted down a little and the piano could clearly be heard. I never thought of Crescent Child as a powerful vocal song until now. And if it's possible, Nana's vocal strength just blew me away with this song. WOW. I always say Nana is a powerful singer, but hearing this was like showing me a voice I didn't even know she had. After the song, there was an instrumental extension done which is often used to give Nana extra time to change/rest/whatever.
Nana Movie
A movie clip starts and we see beautiful Nana in a white outfit. Some clown approaches her and gives her a flower and Nana's all happy (if wooing Nana was that easy...lol). Then he takes out some cards and directs Nana to choose one. She picks one out and gets a super happy look on her face. Hmm wonder what it is? Next some ominous music starts playing and a black clown comes out. He also has some cards. He shows one with a circus ball and burns it and the circus balls disappear! Then he burns one that says Live Cirucs (heretic! heretic!) and the Live Circus sign lights go out. Then he burns one of a flower and Nana's flower withers and dies. Then he asks for her card. She looks at her card and we see it is the 7 of hearts: a picture of Nana! Oh no! She refuses and he's like what to do...then cracks an evil smile. He takes out another card and it has a picture of the previous clown. Nana drops her card in a panic. It's either her friend or her. Suddenly, her card lights up and...NANA SUMMONING! Another Nana in a beautiful green outfit appears. The black clown looks scared and original Nana turns around is like woah wtf is this and falls to her knees lol. Green Nana then puts out her hand and...summons a sword! OMG swords and Nana too good! She chases him off and the movie ends.
Suddenly the black clown runs onto the live stage! With sword Nana following! OMG we haven't gotten a live sword fight since Live Museum's Justice to Believe! Nana's swordplay has improved since then but it's still obviously fake. Then Nana takes a big swing and waterworks follow her sword's direction! Ooooo so Nana is a water user just like her name haha. She was a water user in Dog Days' too. Then the clown charges up his own attack and fire is shot at her! So it's a fire vs water match. More swordplay. Nana pierces his hand but then he's like "nope, caught between my fingers....wait ouch I got hurt." Then he charges up a huge amount of fire and shoots it at Nana where she looks weakened. However, Nana charges up and a huge magical circle is overlayed onto her on the screen and she traps him in some water cage and then finishes him off! He disappears in a puff of smoke, sword Nana victorious.
15 - Naked Soldier
So since we just got swordswoman Nana, it's only fitting for Naked Soldier to be next. I think Nagi actually likes this song more than me, but it's still super amazing. In reality, most of Rockbound Neighbors was just incredibly solid. I love how this song has parts where all the instruments stop and Nana sings and then it slowly builds back up to awesome again. Nana was doing some simple swordplay during the song which was cute. Once again (I keep saying this lol) her vocals were just so much superior to the recorded version. Just wow. I wouldn't put this song as a special one but it just so amazing regardless. The vocal inflections involved in this song are super impressive to hear, and after Crescent Child and this, I was just like wow Nana is truly the greatest.
16 - Preserved Roses (solo)
Next up is Preserved Roses. So this is officially a duet collaboration between her and T.M. Revolution (aka Nishikawa). He didn't come as usual but rumors say he'll be here tomorrow! Since this is supposed to be a duet, his part was just played via the recording and Nana just sang her parts. Either way, this song is really fun and powerful and Nana went to center stage where she rose on the platform again. Hmm actually don't have much to say about this song. It was great but I was honestly getting anxious about hearing a number of songs I knew were coming soon...
MC4
Nana talks about how she sang Preserved Roses with T.M. Revolution at FNS this past Wednesday and asked who saw it. Of course, everyone including myself had. She seemed surprised haha. "Eeeeee ureshii!" Then she talked about how she was so happy to get the chance to do a duet with him. Basically a lot of stuff regarding Preserved Roses she's already said before. Then she mentioned her other FNS performances with a bunch of people. I forget who but Jupiter was one of the songs and afterwards, someone said she did a great job which made Nana happy. Then she asked if anyone saw her Vitalization performance on Thursday. Of course, everyone did. Hmm speaking of Vitalization, it should be soon?
17 - Linkage
Heh. Linkage. I wonder what kind of smile I had on when this started playing. So Linkage was the first song from Rockbound Neighbors to be previewed. It was heard in the PV for the game Unchained Blades EXXIV way back in like August or September-ish since it was the opening theme for it. Anyway, I fell in love with this song immediately and had listened to the preview probably around 777 times by the time the album was released 3 months later. Even though by then I had heard epic songs like Kiseki no Melodia or Hoshikuzu Symphony get previewed, Linkage was my number 1 most anticipated song of the album, and it did not disappoint. The sheer power in this song is so perfect. Couple with Nana's vocal inflections and certain places where the music falls only to build itself back up with pedal to the medal melody, I just love everything about this song. I really wanted to hear this live, and Nana granted that wish. I honestly am not sure how much better the live version is from the recording as I was having way too much fun too care. Glowstick waving to the max!
18 - Eternal Blaze
It only takes one note to recognize this. It's here. Finally. How I have waited. For so long. The greatest Nana song of all time. The most iconic Nana song of all time. The Nana song of Nana songs. ETABURE!!! Now, I historically have been honest and admitted Eternal Blaze is musically not her best. What makes this song perfect is it's the time when the entire stadium fills with orange light and the crowd, in perfect unison, will perform the most glorious choreography ever alongside Nana. But hearing this live...I'm inclined to say this really is a musical masterpiece. Or at least, Nana's vocals make it so. The inflections in her voice were just SO BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT. Like, nothing I've ever heard before and I've watched live versions of this hundreds of times. And then the jumping. I knew the timings so well, better than any other song tonight. Then there was the fire. Pillars of fire everywhere! Because it's not Eternal Blaze without actual fire being shot out on stage. And then. And then. The moment I have been waiting for for years. "MINNA IKIYOU!" I have waited for Nana to ask this of me for 6 years. I was so ready for the response....ready and, ETERNAL BLAZEEE!!!! and JUMP. and...JUMP. Oh man I can't express the feelings of sheer pleasure that came from that. Doing it alone in my room just isn't the same as doing it with 30k other people and of course with Nana, all in the same place, in perfect unison. The rest of song was amazing as expected but that was simply the best few seconds of my life. I actually don't even have the words to describe such happiness. It was just sheer bliss. The energy by the crowd is like nothing else because if there is a song to represent Nana, it is this. This is Eternal Blaze, the greatest Nana song of all time.
19 - Vitalization
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And here it is. Nana's newest released single and the opening to the new Symphogeah season. It was definitely one of the must-hears for the tour due to it being a new release, and I think a lot of people were excited for hearing the live version. It's a fast paced song that arguably involves a ton of instrumentals that overpower Nana's voice at times but...hearing it live, just wow. Nana's vocals say nope nothing is going to overwhelm my voice. And while I really liked the tune when I was listening to it before, hearing this live version, Nana just impresses me again with her voice.
MC5
Nana said how it's been such a great time but it is coming to close. noooo the time went by so fast. I admit I was very, very exhausted and sweating a lot but as long as Nana will sing, I will never rest! The next song will be the last (ha you always say that but you always have encores!). I didn't understand much but then a few key words made my heart jump. July 31st. Love. The ending to Yamato. A beautiful, straightforward song. Could it be? I knew the chances were high but I wasn't about to count on it. Ironically, if my Japanese was better, I might have actually already had confirmation. My ability to only pick up on a few words made it all the more suspenseful. And then I heard the note I was waiting for.
20 - 愛の星 (Ai no Hoshi)
I'll say this now: I'm not a fan of ballads. Never was. What attracted me to Nana was her fast paced, powerful songs accompanied by her equally powerful, consistent, and strong voice and impressive live performances. Ballads are nice, don't get me wrong, but they aren't something I really rank highly. Star Road and Yakusoku were really, really good, and ones like Shin Ai or Yume no Tsuzuki can't be ignored. And yet. And yet...Ai no Hoshi is something on a completely different level. Granted, I haven't heard any ballad other than Star Road live so maybe I'm jumping the gun here but...Ai no Hoshi is in a class of its own. It is so amazingly graceful and beautiful, and the live version took it even farther. Nana's voice resounded so clearly and emotionally and my heart could just feel her emotions piercing me despite the language barrier. I was actually tearing up from sheer happiness and gratitude for being able to hear something so beautiful. After the epic, powerful songs of Linkage, Eternal Blaze, and Vitalization, this was the exact opposite: a calm, quiet, yet beautiful and riveting voice that flooded the stadium. In response to such simple, almost tangible, beauty, the glowstick waving was as simple as it could be, never changing from its one form. There was no chanting. No jumping. No other sound. Only Nana's voice and the instruments. Ballads don't need choreography to be great after all; the greatness of this performance came solely from listening with all our energy and focusing on the goddess singing the most beautiful and graceful song I have ever heard. Thank you, Nana. It was truly perfection.
Encore
So Nana leaves the stage and it goes dark. People start chanting NANA! NANA! for an encore. Some people were rushing to the restroom, hoping to get back in time before Nana came back. After several minutes of darkness and a lot of Nana chanting, the stadium filled with sound again.
21 - Synchrogazer
Listen to my soooooong! Synchrogazer, the opening to Symphogeah's first season. And yet it was the beginning of an epic string of songs that the series would release. Like all Symphogear songs, it is a high powered, fast paced song, and I like it far better than its successor Vitalization. I know I say high powered a lot, but that's what Nana's best at and what I love about her songs. The energy in the crowd rose back to full power after the calm and beautiful Ai no Hoshi. For this one, Nana rose up on the center platform again and everyone was cheering and singing at the appropriate parts. I had a pretty decent view, seeing her above the entire audience and waved when she faced my direction. I was kind of disappointed though that she hadn't done anything interesting. Rising on platforms is like the most standard thing she ever does and the only other thing she had was Nambo which didn't even move =/ Anyway, it worked well as an encore song, re-vitalizing me for the final stretch of epic Nananess!
MC 7
So Nana is wearing the limited edition Seibu Dome shirt. I'm wearing matching clothes with Nana *o* As is like 1/3 of the other people lol. Nana said something about how great it's been. Then she was like "oops I need to prepare for the next song" and grabbed a microphone stand. When she first said it, I immediately hoped she meant prepare for playing the harp but a mic stand...that limited the number of songs by a lot. It was obviously going to be some high powered song that involved using the stand as part of her performance. Something like Musterion...but that felt like it would be out of place. Unchain World also came to mind but she already sang that. Before I could think of other songs, Nana said there was a special guest. Oh. My. God. That could only mean one thing.
22 - 不死鳥のフランメ (Fushichou no Flamme, duet with Yoko Hikasa)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/JgHl1Jl.jpg)
Nana Mizuki x Yoko Hikasa
YOKO HIKASAAAAA!!! I had teased myself a few days prior that since Seibu Dome was the largest concert of the tour, it would be fitting to do something special. Since this duet had been released recently, perhaps Hikasa would come. I really liked the song when it first played in Symphogear G's first episode and while this live duet was essentially guaranteed to happen at the Symphogear concert in December, how epic would it be to happen now? To be honest, I forgot about it until this moment, and a flurry of adrenaline was pumped into my body. I was so incredibly exhausted after Synchrogazer but getting the chance to hear this duet live. SO GOOD. Everyone was so excited and caught off guard by this guest appearance, and the power was even greater than during Synchrogazer. Furthermore, I was dubious about Hikasa's live singing. In fact, I once believed she would be the next Aya Hirano in terms of singing popularity. This is mainly due to K-ON and particularly her song No, Thank You which in terms of fan response was reminiscent of Aya's God Knows. I apologize to Hikasa profusely for that; she did a fine job singing live with Nana. And while I still wouldn't say Hikasa is talented at singing, comparing her to Aya is an insult. Count me a fan of Hikasa. Afterwards, they had a small chat about how fun it was and how Nana one day was like "hey wanna sing at Seibu Dome?" "ehhhhhhh?" hahaha, oh Hikasa, you should visit Nana's radio show instead of dealing with Nakamura Eriko all the time.
23 - Power Gate
YES! FINALLY! I was getting worried because we were already at the encore and she hadn't sung this yet. I was thinking Yakusoku would be the next and final song but I also realized she probably switched it out in favor of Ai no Hoshi. Regardless, Power Gate is a song that, by itself, is not all that special, but the live version is something else to behold. The amount of involvement by the crowd is just unbelievable and to finally be a part of that...ah, true happiness. You know how I said Nana hadn't done anything interesting tonight? Well, she finally ran to the side, climbed up a Live Circus themed platform, and then began riding it around the perimeter of the arena! Sure it was no Live Union pirate ship or Live Castle hot air balloon (which reminds me, I need to see Nana do some flying action) but hey at least I finally get to see her riding something. And now remember where I'm sitting? That's right, 9 rows away from the perimeter of the arena! Soon, she came by me. I must've been about 10, 20 meters max, away from her. I saw her face very clearly and she waved at me (in my general direction) and I was waving back so excitedly. Oh man talk about one great thing after another. Between Ai no Hoshi, Hikasa, and then being that close to Nana...this final stretch of the concert was just so incredibly memorable. Lots of fun glowstick choreography in this song and then began the chanting. I have waited so long for this. WOAH, WOAHH, POWER GATE. Singing that with Nana and the entire audience again and again. And then came the specific calls. She usually specifies stuff like "arena!" or "guys!" but this first one I didn't understand. Then I heard the next one and understood it as "twenties" so the previous call must've been for people in their teens. That was my cue! She went up to 40's and the guy in front of me shouted. Other calls included arena/sections/and of course, male/females. When it ended, I realized my feet and legs were about to collapse but...who cares, the concert wasn't over!
24 - Love Brick
Oh Love Brick, another catchy song but this one is a love comedy song, as the opening to the Switch Girl live action. It sure isn't a typical Nana song to end the concert with but it is somehow fitting. The writer of this song is Sayuri, one of Nana's best friends from high school, and Love Brick somehow rose to my favorite one she's written for Nana. It's quite a catchy song and the Engrish parts make it much easier for me to sing along! While it's no Happy Go Round, it was still the kind of song that puts everyone in a happy mood even though we knew the concert would soon be ending. I think for a circus themed tour, it's better to end with a catchy, happy song then a super fast paced song or even a slow ballad. But of course, all Nana concerts end the same way. As the music comes to a close..."SE NO!" BAM. A huge bang of confetti is shot into the air, marking the end.
After it ended, Nana said her thanks and her band and dancers all lined up to bow. As usual, Nana put the mic down and yelled out "ARIGATOUGOZAIMASHITA!" It's really different, hearing her pure voice, unaltered by the mic amplification. It sounded so gentle and honest but so incredibly strong to reach the stands with no mic or speakers. As expected from Nana. People started to leave in order to avoid the bottlenecking exodus of 30k Nanatards. However, Nana was still going around the stage saying thank you to everyone and waving. I can understand the sentiment of avoiding the inconvenience of a crowd but for me, I couldn't leave when Nana, who has provided me years of happiness and joy, is still thanking me for attending her concert. It's not like a movie or a sports game. Nana just sang for 3 hours, just for us, and she's going around the entire stage, waving and thanking everyone? To just walk away while she's doing that is disrespectful in my eyes. Besides, I'm going to take every extra second I can get of seeing Nana. I continued standing waving and cheering for her until she finally disappeared from the stage.
Post-Concert
Got back at around 10pm and immediately got online to talk about how I just had the time of my life. Hikasa appearance was definitely the highlight of the night, if mainly due to the surprise effect. Nevertheless, hearing Nana live, seeing Nana live, this is something I've waited years for. Live Grace 2011. Live Castle 2011. Live Union 2012. Live Grace Opus 2 2013. All of these were concerts I debated going to and opted not to. But finally, I was here, Live Circus 2013, and it was totally worth it. After waiting for Nagi to wake up to make him super jealous, I went to sleep with excitement for the next day.
August 4th - Trick 7
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/zhNe6aG.jpg)
Another day of Nana! Most of the setlist remained the same so I won't go into all the details all over again but a good amount of songs were still changed as well as my thoughts on some of the repeated ones. Today I got to the stadium at around 4pm so I only had to wait around for an hour. My seat this time was the arena, which is actually pretty godly, and I find my block area is pretty close to the center walkway that Nana runs down a few times. Unfortunately, my seat is gone! The staff said something about making room for the camera and moving the seats elsewhere...I don't think he realized I didn't know Japanese cause I was just like "oh okay" and "thanks." The new seat was closer to the main stage but farther from the walkway, an even trade I suppose. As expected from my fears of the day before, the arena looked like a pretty great spot but once others sat down, I couldn't see anything. I was pretty worried but soon...
01 - Gimmick Game
There was the whole clown act again before starting and then Gimmick Game again. However, I soon learned a key difference between the arena and the stands. Yesterday, I was trying to view Nana on stage rather than looking at the screen which caused distractions by the arena glowsticks. Today, I was a part of that very thing which meant 2 things. First, there was no blobs of light to distract me. Second, being in the arena made the choreography so much easier to follow. Maybe partly due to learning from mistakes of yesterday but everything came so much more naturally. Real Nana hive mind going on there. Anyway, I also was still able to spot Nana on stage at times and when I did, I could see her pretty clearly, so my worries were pretty unfounded and I have to say getting this seat after yesterday was more than I could ever ask for.
02 - Lovely Fruit
Same deal as before. Nothing new here.
03 - Miracle Flight
Yes! Was disappointed I didn't get this yesterday. I mean, as good as What Cheer? is, I like Miracle Flight much more. They are similar in both being relaxing catchy type songs. Since I know this better, I also wasn't lost for the glowstick waving because the melody was much more familiar. At this song, I realized I was really sore from yesterday's waving and I was already switching my glowstick back and forth between my right and left hand. Sorry I'm too weak to use both arms the entire concert except for certain songs. And then my favorite part: "Saa minna. Goisshoni! Hayaku tabi ni yukimashou!" I don't know why I love that part so much but I do. Made me so happy to hear that live.
MC1
Nana greets us again. She says how she is back at Seibu Dome. First was Live Diamond 2009 then Live Games 2010 and now Live Circus 2013. It has been 3 years and this time, it is part of a tour. Some of the stuff she says is the same as yesterday like the karaoke question. She also mentions something about the wind again XD Anyway, due to my fail Japanese, all I know is the next song.
04 - Dear Dream
Woah another surprise. I was expecting You Have a Dream since she's been singing it during the tour but wrong dream! This is a funny one because I actually would never be able to tell you the tune to this song but I definitely recognized it. I guess that's what happens when I put all Nana Mizuki songs in existence on shuffle and use that as study music for 4 years of university lol. Well okay, sometimes I opted for my handpicked favorite songs but that's basically what I did. (This is actually the secret to getting into Todai. Listen to Nana all day every day, just saying) Anyway, yeah I could never connect the tune to the title but I knew the tune very well!
05 - Fearless Hero
same as before. Really enjoyed her singing an otherwise bland song. Also from my new seat I realized she wasn't as close to the center stands as I previously thought but it was still pretty close.
Cherry Boys + Movie
same as before.
06 - Get My Drift?
So I was noticing it since Gimmick Game but only now does it really hit me with full force. The sound quality difference between the arena and my seat from yesterday is different. Arena is superior. I'm no sound expert so I can only make guesses as to why that is but it makes sense that center stage gets the best audio ambiance. As such, I enjoyed Get My Drift? even more than yesterday.
07 - Unbreakable
It is time. So I said how I didn't like Pop Master that much. The B-side song to that single was this, and I loved it. It was kind of the highlight song for me for summer 2011, which was right in the middle of Nana's single releases spree. The audience seemed to love it just as much since as soon as it started playing, everyone was chanting with full power. Then again, they usually are so maybe that's not saying much? Either way, as a high powered song, this required a lot of energy. While it's not a song I'd list as one of my favorites, it's definitely a song I wanted to hear live, so I'm glad she included it. UNBREAKABLEEEE mmm so good.
MC2
Nana talks about the movie again and says how she wasn't saved! lol. She mentions how the Cherry Boys in the movie have G in their name. Reminds me of Symphogear G and as Sentenal says, G is the bravest letter in the alphabet! Then she mentions two people who are here today and how she is thankful for them for something...sorry my Japanese is fail here but everyone turned toward them in the audience and cheered. She then talks about how it's summer and how the Cherry Boys mentioned what they wanted to do for summer during their introductions. Nana says as for her she wants to have concerts! hahaha of course the crowd cheers. Then she says she could also do some cleaning. lol wat. "Also...summer means yukatas right? I'd like to wear one." Ah yes, Nana in yukata is the most beautiful image in the world. Everyone cheers again and some of us shout MITAI MITAI! I want to see! Then she says the next song will be an old one that she has fond memories of from the recording.
08 - 水中の青空 (Suichuu no Aozora)
So this was no surprise since she's been singing it at previous tour locations. However, what was a surprise was that she included it in the tour at all. This song is OLD. Supersonic Girl old. That's 2001, 12 years ago, her first album. Now first of all, this song is pretty. The glowstick waving is kept to a minimum so we can all enjoy Nana's peaceful words. Personally, I don't find it that special but pretty Nana songs are always nice because I get to hear a different voice from her than I normally listen to. However, what I've heard of this song is old. 12 years old. Hearing the Nana of today sing this...it's amazing. On one hand, I can hear the flawless consistency that she has somehow maintained across 12 years. On the other hand, I can hear the maturity in her voice change since her first album. Hearing a mature 33 year old Nana sing this song from when she was 21...wow. Nana's voice is just too beautiful.
09 - Star Road
Same as before. This after Suichuu no Aozora made for a nice pair of very calming and beautiful music.
Team Yoda
meh same as before.
10 - Power Gate
So this time everyone knows where Nana is going to appear. But woah she surprised me by switching it up and throwing Power Gate at us early on. Wasn't ready for such an intense song right after the calm songs but I'm always up for some Power Gate chanting. WOAH WOOAAH POWER GATE!!!! Nana was running down the center stage again so I got more close views of her.
11 - Happy Go Round
towel song again where I am the sole loser. Oh well, love this song. So happy.
MC3
Nana talks about Nambo again and says basically the same stuff. Probably some other stuff I didn't understand. Some people nearby shout MAWATTE but the hive mind has failed us. Then she says how the next song is special. Ehhhhh? She switches her mic for one that allows her to have both hands free. It's been about 10 years since this song was released. Woah another old one? It's from Dream Skipper. Hmm. And then she says it is...
12 - Keep Your Hands in the Air
So the hand free mic definitely lets her keep her hands in the air lol. Unlike Dear Dream, I knew this song quite well. It is unique enough for me to remember fairly easily. I guess it's kind of similar to It's in the Bag with a lot of short phrases followed by a pause. Anyway, I'm generally not a fan of Nana's old songs (like, pre-2004ish) but I liked this one, relatively speaking, though I don't think it's anything special. Either way, it was a rare treat to hear this song. I'm late on saying this but Nana has lately been singing her new and/or popular songs (and for good reason) which leaves her older songs feeling neglected. That said, she has expressed the desire to include some old songs (Live Grace 2013 was simply amazing in that regard) in her setlists, and this tour she has been doing a good job of doing so with some real old school songs like this and Suichuu no Aozora.
13 - Late Summer Tale
It's summer so what better song to sing than a summer tale? This one gets similar treatment as Dear Dream but slightly different. I don't really recognize the title Late Summer Tale. But what I do know is it's one of my favorites from Hybrid Universe lol. All that looping without reading titles is really coming back to bite me. Unlike stuff released after I became a Nanatard which I looped repeatedly with each release, I went and got all her old music at once, threw it all onto my playlist and just put it all on random. Sure, I enjoyed a huge amount of it but I never learned the titles! lol fail. Anyway, this was a really nice song to hear that wasn't high powered. Nana's pretty voice is so pretty. It was a much needed break from the high powered songs of Power Gate and Happy Go Round.
14 - Crescent Child
Again! Again I didn't recognize it at first due to Nana's overwhelming vocals. When I picked up on the piano again, I was just like lol not again. But yeah, Nana's vocals in this song are so much more powerful than the recording. So good.
Nana Movie
same as before. Only different thing I noticed was that when Nana charges up her sword attacks, there were waterworks rising on the left side I couldn't see before.
15 - Naked Soldier
live version is just so superior to the recording.
16 - Synchrogazer
Same as before, even including rising on the platform. Since I was so close, I could see her so clearly and waved when she was facing me. I just don't get tired of seeing her in front of me...so good.
MC4
Nana talks about some stuff I either didn't understand or don't remember...I think it was this MC where she had some talk with one of her band members but I actually had no clue what they were saying but the crowd went "ehhhhhh?" more than once lol. Then she says how next is a special set up! HUH??? There are lots of guitars here. WOAH WAIT GUITARS? The only song I think of involving her being flanked by guitars is Orchestral Fantasia. No way she's singing that or I'd die from the epic sound. She counts up to 11 but I'm not sure if that's how many guitarists there actually are or just her band lol...then she asks if we're ready for a super high powered song. Maximum power! Hmm is it really Orchestral Fantasia?
17 - Linkage
lol Nana building my hype and then it's just Linkage. Even so, as I said, Linkage is one of my favorite fast paced songs. I was actually super exhausted and tired at this point, but for this song, I powered through. Nana's voice is so powerful, it gives me strength.
18 - Eternal Blaze
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/uceBZTR.jpg)
The people in front of me were like KITA KITA and everyone scrambled around for their orange lights. But even better than yesterday, today I was in the arena. The shouting and jumping done for this song was on a whole new level, and tired as I was, I gave Nana my all. In fact, the guy in front of me tripped on his landing (to be fair, arena seats don't give much room for landings) and he was all like oh crap I gotta get back into sync. Anyway, the arena was just so hyped for this song, as expected from the most iconic Nana song. Nothing, absolutely nothing, compares to that feeling of shouting ETERNAL BLAZE with 30k other people followed by 2 full powered jumps.
19 - Vitalization
hmm not much to say about this. Only thing is after hearing this with the superior sound quality, I'm liking this more than before but still not Synchrogazer level.
MC5
Nana says how the time is almost over again. Whaaaaa. I couldn't believe my time with Nana was about to end. These concerts go by way too fast. Even though I was super tired, I didn't want it to end. I want to hear Nana more and more...She mentions the Vitalization special that aired before the release and of course, everyone had seen it. Nana was wearing a yukata after all! Anyway, the next song is something beautiful. I'm expecting Yakusoku but then she talks about Yamato again so I know what's coming.
20 - 愛の星 (Ai no Hoshi)
So I was somewhat disappointed at not getting Yakusoku this time. I really wanted to hear it live especially after missing out on the full orchestral arrangement for Live Grace 2013 since it wasn't included in the DVD. Still, Ai no Hoshi is soooo beautiful and I just can't get enough of its gracefulness.
Encore
So Nana leaves and everyone is waiting for her to come back. Everyone is chanting NANA. NANA. But I had to keep myself from doing so. I was really tired and saving my strength because I knew the next song would need it.
21 - Astrogation
The instant the first note played, everyone knew she was back and this time with one of her most epic songs of all time. ASTROGAAAAAATION. HOLY STARS IN HEAVEN this is such a godly song. To begin with, the recording of this song is godly by itself. The musical composition and lyrics make it truly feel like a song deserving to be among the stars. But the live version takes that even further. The excitement in the crowd is so powerful to match the equally powerful instruments. Furthermore, this is one of the songs I know best in terms of lyrics so I couldn't help but sing along at those parts. And then the jumping. This song I think has more jumping than any other song, at least that I experienced. Now, I was already pretty tired between yesterday and today but each jump I could feel this intense pain go down my legs. Walking is one thing. Jumping might not be that bad. But these were intense, full power, squat then jump as high as possible and repeat with no break jumps. Over and over. And this is after all the other jumping I had done yesterday and today. But I had been waiting for this song for years. I wasn't about to let some pain stop me. Ignore pain, gain Nana. I don't know how I survived but the huge adrenaline boost must've helped. I earlier expressed worry to a fellow Nanatard about not having the stamina, and he said the adrenaline would carry me through; he was right lol. Even when we weren't jumping, the glowstick waving was like, wave with all the power you can muster as opposed to some organized melody except for certain parts and I did just that. Nana rose on a platform again and it felt like I was jumping to reach Nana...except the nature of the song means space is supposed to be the goal so I'm aiming too low lol. Then again, Nana is a goddess from heaven so clearly it works out. Anyway, I cannot describe in words how exciting this song is live. I think I used more energy for this one than any other, and for good reason. Astrogation is epic.
MC6
Nana talks about Smile Gang, her radio show with Fukuen Misato, reaching episode 600 soon. She talks about the batsu games and how she'll work hard for 777! Actually she talked about this yesterday too but I forget when orz. More stuff I don't understand and then she asks if we're ready for the next song. OF COURSE! It's probably a song I've been wanting to hear live for a long time...
22 - Super Generation
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/X103WV7.jpg)
SUPER GENERAAAAATION!!!! "Everyone, sing with me!!!" Like Power Gate, this song is all about the crowd involvement. The song itself is super upbeat and involves lots of back and forth glowstick waving. There's also some intense jumping at some parts. Exhaustion means nothing at this point. Super Generation is one of the songs that just require maximum energy from the crowd and no matter how tired I am, I will participate in the whole thing. Nana rides her Live Circus platform around the arena like she did during Power Gate yesterday, and I got another good view of her as she passed me. Then everyone starts chanting la-la-la-la-la-la...a lot of la's lol. She makes calls for certain people just like she does for Power Gate. It was so much fun which really isn't surprising because like I said, this is such an audience song. Then the music goes straight into the final song.
23 - Love Brick
Not much to say for this. It's Love Brick again, so a happy and catchy song. Honestly, since this wasn't exactly a special live song, I didn't put in all my energy for it at times (well, not that I had any left) and I was 8tarting to feel all my pain returning but I tried to give Nana a lot for the final song.
MC7
Nana thanks everyone again and does the closing remarks. Everyone is sad that the day is over and then the lights go out. WAIT! The lights are supposed to come on when the concert is over! THIS MEANS DOUBLE ENCORE HOLY CRAP YESSSSSS. Everyone gets all excited and starts chanting NANA NANA. To explain, while it's not uncommon for double encore to occur, this entire tour she has only done it once, at her first location. Since then, it's only been single encore so this had both feelings of being unexpected and about time. Furthermore, there was one thing we were all thinking...
Double Encore
Nana came out faster than I expected for the double encore. She said how since this is Seibu Dome, she wanted to spend a little more time with us if that's okay. Lol of course it's okay! We love you Nana! Then she says she thinks she'll sing a powerful song. Okay so at this point, pretty much everyone is thinking the same thing. The rumors about today, the lack of her singing this song yet for the first time this tour, and to top it off, the double encore described as a powerful song. Nana begins and does the Preserved Roses pose but many of us think she's pointing to the other side of the stage where a guest will appear. He doesn't. Then we turn back around and the main stage dome door opens to reveal...as expected, T.M. Revolution!
24 - Preserved Roses (duet with T.M. Revolution)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/XSoXWOl.jpg)
I don't think many people were surprised like the way Hikasa was revealed but we were still so excited for another live duet! At this point, I don't even know where my exhaustion went but I was jumping and chanting and singing with the entire crowd. It's not even like I'm a huge fan of the song or anything but double encore duet? That's too good to just pass off as a regular Nana song. The entire stadium was going crazy. Two duets in one weekend must be a first. I am so lucky to have been here for both. Everyone has been hoping for Nishikawa to make an appearance eventually and Seibu Dome was certainly the place to do it. The energy for this final song was through the roof. It was really, really epic and fun to be a part of.
MC8
The crowd cheers for the two and then they start talking about their duet. T.M. Revolution just had a concert earlier in the day and had come over to perform at Nana's! (this was known and the reasoning of said rumors) Nana says "sasuga pro desu" rofl. They talked about some stuff and Nishikawa made some jokes that I did not understand at all while Nana's like "nai nai nai." The only thing I caught was he said he was a big fan of Nana. Then he was like "so should we tell them about us?" That sounds a bit scandalous. The guy next to me yelled "MARRIAGE?" lol I don't think they heard him though. Then Nana was like okay! Valvrave season 2 begins this September and...she'll be doing a new duet with him for the opening! WOOOOOOOO MORE NANA. BANZAI! BANZAI! Then Nishikawa mentions how all the advertisements for Preserved Roses have them together and how people mention are they getting married or something. Haha so he brings it up anyway. Nana has this look of no way that's ever going to happen lol. Anyway, this time the song will be done by Nana's recording label as Preserved Roses was done by Nishikawa's. They said a few more things I didn't understand and then he left.
Nana makes closing remarks and thanks everyone once again. This time, the lights go on and Nana does her running around, thanking everyone once again. People are leaving again but I'm of course going to stay. I got to see her pretty close as she was waving directly in front of me yet again. So cute and beautiful...and then after she's done the loop around the stage she says, "how about I sing a little more?" OH MY GOD. TRIPLE ENCORE!? WHAT IS THIS? But it's not a full song and it's not a new one. She picks up right in the middle of Happy Go Round and everyone joins in for one last time. I actually can't think of a time she sang this much AFTER the lights went on. I know she's done some short karaoke before but this was probably a good 2-3 minutes of singing. I consider myself so unbelievably lucky to get such a treat. Everyone is pouring out even more energy than when she sang it during the main concert. The towels go FLYING in the air; the guy's next to me hits me in the face multiple times but I don't care. When it's over, she thanks everyone once again and disappears, leaving me feeling nothing but pure happiness. However, after she left, everyone puts their hands in the air and I follow suit, unaware of this mysterious ritual. Then they start clapping to some unknown beat and I'm stumbling trying to figure it out and then they stop and everyone starts hi-fiving each other and saying good job. What is this magical ritual and why was I not informed of it!? This was never on the DVDs! I don't know if it's a hardcore-fan arena thing or what but it didn't happen yesterday so I was confused lol but it was a cool sight to see everyone rejoicing over another successful concert.
Since they release the audience by blocks to prevent chaos and trampling, I had to stay seated another 20 minutes or so. I was grateful for the rest, and I actually didn't get back until past 11pm which was over an hour later than yesterday due to train schedules. I guess better seats means staying much longer heh. I was incredibly exhausted but still went to sleep kinda late as I was talking with Nagi about Nana again lol. When I woke up, I was sore in so many places. I had used so many muscles for 6 hours (3 hours per concert). Standing, waving, jumping, shouting...but it was all worth it.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/dy8c9pq.jpg)
Exodus of Nanatards
Thoughts on the concerts: setlist was really good and I'm satisfied with almost every song. She sang a large portion of Rockbound Neighbors, her newest album which makes sense but also did a good job spreading out the rest of her songs across her older releases. I got to listen to Power Gate, Super Generation, and Astrogation, all of which are incredibly epic live. I am disappointed, however, at the severe lack of Nanoha songs. The Nanoha series houses some really nice lineup of songs like Innocent Starter, Brave Phoenix, Pray, Romancer's Neo, Bright Stream, and more. The only Nanoha song I heard was the obligatory Eternal Blaze. I mean, I guess Lyrical Party V just happened so all the fans already got their Nanoha fix but still. The balance of many high powered songs, less catchy songs, and a few beautiful songs was quite representative of Nana's entire repertoire. And as I mentioned, the best parts were 1) Ai no Hoshi being the most epicly graceful song ever and 2) two duets in one weekend. Getting such great seats combined with those made for a very special, memorable, and overall epic first Nana live experience.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/J8zubzh.jpg)
So when people speak of concerts, I guess normally you would think of music being the primary attraction. True, hearing and seeing Nana is the best part. Yet, the most fun part is without a doubt, being a part of the crowd. I cannot emphasize just how much choreography there is on the audience's part in almost every song. Everyone is gathered to hear and see Nana but what makes Nana concerts so fun is not her but the fans. The pacing of the glowstick waving, the timing of the jumps, the chanting, the shouting, when to sing, the call and response, all of this is stuff I've learned over the years by watching live videos, and even then, I didn't know some parts. Point being, Nana made me happier than I've ever been before but being a part of the crowd and choreography was the most fun I've ever had in my life. A lot of people said I was really weird for going to Japan a couple months before moving there for school but the amount of raw joy and happiness I got out of these concerts is just like, I don't care about logic or reasoning. I could actually die happy right now with no regrets because finally, after 6 years of waiting, I have fulfilled my dream of being a part of a Nana Mizuki concert, and it was everything I dreamed it would be and more.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/nideQYB.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/qx3N3oL.jpg)
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